maza tha ham ko jo laila se du-ba-du karte
ki gul tumhari baharon men aarzu karte
would be a joy if you were there face to face with me
then flowers would, in springtime, seek you longingly
maze jo maut ke ashiq bayan kabhu karte
masih o khizr bhi marne ki aarzu karte
if the joys of death in love, paramours narrate
Jesus and Khizr too will for death eagerly wait
gharaz thi kya tire tiron ko ab-e-paikan se
magar ziyarat-e-dil kyuun ki be-vazu karte
lustre from the arrow’s gleam your glances did not need
but how could they enter my heart ’til they were cleansed indeed
ajab na tha ki zamane ke inqilab se ham
tayammum aab se aur khaak se vazu karte
the tumult of this world’s affairs, how could I escape
with sand ablution I perform, my hands with water scrape
agar ye jante chun chun ke ham ko todenge
to gul kabhi na tamanna-e-rang-o-bu karte
if they had ever known they would, one by one, be rent
flowers would have never wished for colour or for scent
samajh ye dar-o-rasan tar-o-sozan ai mansur
ki chak-e-parda haqiqat ka hain rafu karte
mansuur, think the scaffold, noose, as needle,thread forsooth
there to darn the tear within the veil of eternal truth
yaqin hai subh-e-qayamat ko bhi subuhuhi-kash
uthenge khvab se saaqi subu subu karte
I am sure carousers would,on morn of judgement day
rouse from dreams crying out “more! more wine for me I say”
na rahti yusuf-e-kanan ki garmi-e-bazar
muqable men jo ham tujh ko ru-ba-ru karte
in a bidding war for Yuusuf fervor wouldn’t be there
if I had put you next to him for buyers to compare
chaman bhi dekhte gulzar-e-arzu ki bahar
tumhari bad-e-bahari men aarzu karte
the bloom of my desire’s grove if gardens ever view
in springtime’s breeze they all would, start to yearn for you
suragh umr-e-guzishta ka kijiye gar ‘zauq’
tamam umr guzar jaae justuju karte
zauq if one did search for clues of times that went before
all one’s life would be spent seeking them once more
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